Seared by Desire (6 page)

Vampires were a notoriously lawless bunch, split into
factions that before Lucian, had done as they pleased with no
regard to a higher power. Their ways had made them one of the most
reviled peoples in the world. For while others accepted that they
needed blood to survive, it was the killing that had often followed
the act that had made them hated. There was no need to kill their
prey after feeding but with no single leader of the vampires to
impose rules, it was not a crime either.

That was when people had decided to start hunting vampires,
seeking them out during the day when they were most vulnerable. And
that was when Lucian had decided to step in. He was strong, having
lived longer than most of his kind, and prepared to take action. He
had fought tirelessly forcing the various factions to submit to him
and unifying them beneath his leadership but the process had been a
long one.

Now, so close to the end, he was neglecting his health. He
simply didn’t care anymore. His task was nearly complete, the way
the world viewed vampires had changed. No longer did they kill as
they fed, most times the prey didn’t even know that they had been
used as a vampire’s dinner and that was how it should
be.

Immortality was both a blessing and a curse when your enemies
had it as well. Battles that should have been over quickly dragged
on for years, decades even. Time gave enemies the opportunity to
plan and adapt, create new strategies to get under his skin. It was
infuriating and Lucian was beginning to tire of the whole
thing.

His people were now almost completely unified. If he decided
to walk into the sun, they would take care of themselves. Even as
he thought it, he realised that though tempting, the idea was a bad
one. His people would fall into anarchy if he died; he was the only
thing that unified the often quarrelling factions. There was no
point in putting the inevitable off any further. He stood, dressing
himself in his signature black clothing, black trousers, a dark
shirt and a dark overcoat. He had often been called a dark angel,
his features so striking others thought him heavenly though his
attire and attitude were as cold as ice and as dark as night. He
saw no need to change habits that had been centuries in the making
simply because of idle gossip and so the dark clothes remained. It
was with a heavy heart that Lucian stepped out into the hustle and
bustle of his manor. With the coming of night, the castle was
coming to life.

“
My Lord.”

Lucian groaned at the sound of Russell’s voice, knowing that
his words would only serve to increase the already heavy burden on
his shoulders. He turned dark eyes on the shorter man, hoping the
frustration banked in their depths would serve to scare him off
without any need to compel him away. Unaware of his Lord’s
displeasure, Russell continued to speak. Russell was the most
cautious commander in his army. His short cut blonde hair and sharp
grey eyes reflecting the strict order he imposed on his life. It
was an order he would see imposed on Lucian's as well.

“
Lord Lucian, the Malachites are causing trouble
again.”

“
When are they not causing trouble? They refuse to accept the
inevitable and so problems arise.”

“
They’re trying to convince other factions to join
them.”

“
They will not.”

“
How can you be so sure?” he pressed, pulling worriedly at the
tie around his neck, his grey eyes wide with
expectation.

“
Because they don’t want me to come after them. They know what
I will do to them if they turn traitor.”

“
But Lord Lucian, I have word that the Malachites will be
having a meeting tonight. We must go.”

Lucian watched as Gareth, another commander in his army,
approached, rolling his emerald green eyes in dismay at Russell’s
words. The two could not have been more different in terms of
personality with the dark haired Gareth being far more out going
and impulsive than the fair and level headed Russell. “Enough
Russell,” Gareth ordered, coming to stand beside him and clapping a
large hand hard against his shoulder making his knees wobble
beneath him. “Can’t you see that Lord Lucian hasn’t fed? He needs
to feed and regain his strength before he can deal with all your
demands. My Lord…pleasant hunting.” He bowed low, forcing Russell
into a similar posture before dragging him out of sight.

“
Thank you Gareth,” Lucian whispered, casting his long time
friend a final look before sweeping out into the night.

Russell and Gareth were both right. He needed to feed and
once he was at full strength, he needed to deal with the
Malachites. They had been a problem for far too long. There were
not that many of them and he knew he had been too lenient with them
in the past, hoping against all odds that they would see reason and
submit to him. Time had only served to reinforce their weaknesses
and it was obvious they could not be reasoned with. They had to be
exterminated. Once he found their lair, he would do exactly
that.

With a single leap, Lucian was airborne, flying high in the
night sky. The ability to fly came late to vampires, only the most
aged of their kind could do it with any sort of grace but Lucian
was more than accustomed to the wind whipping his long hair and the
far cooler temperatures of the high skies.

He enjoyed flying, it gave him a few moments of peace in his
chaotic life. With so few vampires able to take to the air, he was
never harassed by the over eagerness of his inner circle. He could
pretend for a few moments that he was just a normal vampire,
searching for prey before he would go on his way and enjoy the rest
of the night. He could pretend that all was as it had been before
he had decided to unify his people. He dropped suddenly, his
balance momentarily lost before he caught himself. He mentally
cursed himself for his careless behaviour. He was weak. He hadn’t
fed for three nights, so preoccupied had he been with the
Malachites and their continued disobedience. Flying was a skill
that a vampire needed to be at nearly full strength to do. If he
continued to remain airborne, he would fall.

Sending out an imperious mental command for healthy humans to
gather, Lucian let himself glide to earth, his shoes touching the
hard cobbles with a soft clack. He had to wait for a few minutes
for the humans to arrive, drawn to his location by the power of his
mind alone. Only four humans arrived in response to his call but as
he looked around the dirt and squalor of the area of the city he
had landed in he was surprised that even that many had shown up. He
looked into their dazed eyes, reinforcing the feeling of confusion
that had overcome them as soon as his seductive voice had wormed
its way into their minds; there was no need for them to fear what
he was about to do.

In the morning there would be no trace of him on either their
bodies or in their minds. He beckoned the first to him, sinking his
fangs into his neck and drawing deep. The ache in his fangs
gradually eased, the gnawing of a stomach that wouldn’t accept food
as sustenance subsided. But when he withdrew his fangs, he knew he
needed more. He couldn’t take any more blood from the man without
endangering his life but he hadn’t taken enough sustenance after
days of hunger to be satisfied with what a single human could
offer. He summoned the second, the third and the fourth, drinking
his fill from each until he felt true relief.

His hunger now satiated, Lucian began to walk, leaving the
poverty of the poorer districts behind to head towards the wealth
of the richer ones.
My hunger makes my
mind play tricks on me. How could I not have listened to what
Russell had to say? The sooner I find the Malachites, the sooner I
can be free to rule my people in peace. Walk into the sun?
He scoffed; astounded at the path his thoughts
had taken in his moment of weakness.
When
I get back, I’m going to order Gareth to bring new donors to the
manor, if I have blood at the ready, then this won’t happen
again.

“
Help me! Someone help me!”

The frantic cry for help drew Lucian out of his mental
reverie and in an act that was completely out of character for him,
he walked towards it, towards her. There was an irresistible need
within him to be closer to the voice and his steps quickened, his
strides lengthening until he saw her.

The voice belonged to a woman, that he’d known the instant
she’d called to him, what he hadn’t expected was for the woman to
be a fire elemental. Flames were melded with her already red curls
and her skin had a reddish hue telling him of the fire that ran
though her veins.

He was intrigued. Fire elementals never called for
help.

He moved closer, examining the freckles that covered her
cheeks, her plump red lips and the curve of her nose. She fell to
her knees and the smell of her blood exploded into the air. He was
close now, so close he could feel her heat and the smell of her
blood hit him like a drug. Rich. Exotic. His.

The warm blood running through his veins froze. He stepped
back as though he’d been punched in the gut; he felt as though he
had been. The woman in front of him was his bride, the woman fate
had put aside solely for him. In all the centuries he’d been alive
he’d never expected to find her but here she was, presented to him
like a gift. His fangs ached. He took another step back despite the
fact he wanted to get closer to her.

He had just fed but he wanted nothing more than to sink his
fangs into her soft skin, drink her until she was boneless then
take her body until she couldn’t move.
Or
both at the same time.
The thought
appealed to him while at the same time scaring him beyond all
reason. To drink his bride’s blood would be to tie his strength to
her. No other’s blood would invigorate him like hers; he would be
at his most powerful while being at his most vulnerable. She would
give him power like no other but the blood of everyone else would
leave his stomach full but his body weak. She was a liability he
couldn’t afford to have right now. He was in the middle of a war.
He hadn’t even realised he’d moved to her side.

Her hand gripped his tightly forcing him to stare into her
burning blue eyes. “You have to run. Please. You have to run, I
can’t control her. Everything will burn. Warn everyone on your way
out. Run.” Her soft voice was desperate, her words slurring as she
suddenly lost consciousness.

Lucian looked down at their joined hands; her tanned skin was
hot against his, her warmth seeping into him, heating his
blood.
His body was stirring to life at
the sight of her, the smell of her, the feel of her. He knew in
that instant that she would drive him to distraction and
distraction was the one thing he couldn’t afford, not now, not when
the end was so close. He pulled his hand loose and she slid
boneless to the ground. Squashing down any traces of sympathy he
felt towards his unconscious bride, he took a step back.

“
My Lord?” The voice was quiet, hesitant as he asked the
question.

Spinning round to stare at Russell, Lucian snapped,
“What?”

“
You have fed?”

“
Yes,” he responded abruptly.

“
Then should we move on? The Malachites?”

Dark eyes turned to glance at the woman laying prone against
the ground, an urge to help her rising within him.
She’s a fire elemental. She’ll be fine. She’ll
survive until my war is over and then…then I’ll come for
her.
The words meant to reassure him did
little to that effect. “Fine, I’ll deal with the Malachites but I
want you to stay here.”

“
Why my Lord? Don’t you want me to help you?”

“
What I want is for you to stay and watch over this woman
until she wakes. No one is to harm her or disturb her rest.” His
eyes flickered to the fangs protruding from Russell's mouth and a
beast rose within him, determined to tear the man’s head from his
shoulders. “And no one is to drink her either. She is to remain
exactly as she is now. Completely untouched.”

“
And if she doesn’t wake until after the sun
rises?”

Then burn but watch over her.
He
shook his head to repel the thought. “Summon some of our humans and
have them watch her in your stead but I don’t want her to see you.
As soon as you’re sure she’s awake, come back.”

“
Yes my Lord.”

Though it pained him, Lucian turned away from his unconscious
bride, wiping her blood off his hand and onto his coat all the
while resisting the urge to bring the cool skin to his mouth and
lick it clean.
And people wonder why I
wear so much black,
he scoffed.
The blood doesn’t show. Although, if there were
anyone whose blood I would wish to be covered in, it’s hers.
I have more important things to deal with than a
woman, even if she is mine.
He forced his
mind away from his bride’s delicious blood, leaping into the air
and disappearing into the night. There was a war going on and one
woman wasn’t going to change that.

Chapter Five – How to Hunt a
Predator

For the first time in days, when Sara woke, her head wasn’t
throbbing. Her heart was however racing just as it had been every
time she’d woken after hearing Seraphina declare her destructive
intentions. She hadn’t managed to escape the city and as a result
had killed hundreds, probably thousands. Her heart was heavy and
her eyes refused to open despite the sunlight beating against her
lids unprepared to witness the horror she’d unleashed onto the
world. It had been bad enough knowing she was responsible for the
deaths of the innocent farmers who had slept unsuspecting in their
beds while she had ravaged their lands and their bodies. To come
face to face with the blackened corpses of what was probably a
large portion of the city was asking too much. Tears of remorse
began to well beneath her closed lids before a sharp pain in her
leg made her bolt upright, a colourful curse flying from her
lips.